Select small to medium tomatoes that are uniformly ripe, firm, and have sturdy skin. Rinse them under running water, then place them in a bowl and sprinkle them with spices. Pour hot brine over the tomatoes. For green tomatoes, use a stronger brine—50–55 grams of salt per 1 liter of water. Place a circle on top, followed by a weight. If you’ll eat the tomatoes soon after salting, leave them at room temperature for a day, then move them to a cool place.
When pickling in glass jars for later canning, add spices to the bottom of the jars and on top of the tomatoes. Pour in the hot brine, cover the jars with lids, and pasteurize: 0.5-liter jars — 7–8 minutes; 1-liter jars — 8–9 minutes; 3-liter jars — 10–12 minutes. Once pasteurization is complete, seal the jars immediately and turn them upside down.
You can also can salted tomatoes using the hot-pour method. To do this, place the vegetables in jars, pour boiling water over them, and drain the water after a minute. Repeat the blanching, then pour in the hot brine, cover with lids, seal immediately, and turn the jars upside down.
For a 3-liter jar: tomatoes — 2,100 grams; water — 1 liter; salt — 45–50 grams; dill, horseradish leaves, and celery — 10 grams each; hot pepper — 1 piece; garlic — 3–4 cloves; currant, cherry, and oak leaves — 25 grams.
